Westhill/Ludden track earns A-2 sectional track title

Since they have a combined girls track and field team, Westhill/Bishop Ludden got to move up when the Section III championships rolled around.

It proved quite a productive move, as the Warriors went out Wednesday and won the sectional Class A-2 championship at Fulton, beating seven other contenders for that crown.

With a total of 175 points, Westhill/Ludden easily pulled away from Homer, who finished second with 118 points. Central Valley Academy, with 58 points, was far back in third place.

By far, the Warriors’ strength came in field events, including a 1-2 finish in the high jump, where Anna Ross cleared 4 feet 10 inches to win it and Annibel Coolican, clearing 4’8″, got second place. The pole vault saw Noelle Coolican and Katherine Doherty share top honors, each clearing 8’6″.

To top that, Westhill/Ludden swept the top three finishes in the shot put, where Bella Sterly threw it 35’6″, with Ross second thanks to a top toss of 31’10” and Kayla Wild (29’5 3/4″) third.

Also, Wild took second in the shot put with 90’10” and Sterly was third (87’6″) as Homer’s Brynn Hyde unleashed a top throw of 114’4″. Ross contributed a fifth-place long jump of 15’7″.

Also, Westhill/Ludden got plenty of points out of distance races, such as the 1,500-meter run, where Genny Corcoran made her way to a victory in 4:53.15, while Alaina Kenny finished third in 5:08.27.

Emily Washburn was second in the 3,000-meter run in 11:27.26, with Maddie Nowicki (11:27.50) third. It was the same in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, with Annibel Coolican second (7:48.84) and Erin Morrell third (7:51.52) behind Homer star Jade Auchmoody, who won with 7:30.04.

Mary Washburh took third place in the 400-meter dash in 1:02.70, with Caroline Coates getting third in the 800-meter run in 2:27.90, ahead of Corcoran (2:28.62) and Kenny (2:36.16) in the fourth and fifth spots.

Also, Washburn, Morrell, Noelle Coolican and Ciara Hoyne went 10:08.92 in the 4×800 relay, second to Homer’s top time of 9:50.97. Ross, Coates, Mary Washburn and Olivia Dagineau were second (4:18.37), just behind Homer (4:17.31), in the 4×100 relay, while the Warriors took sixth in the 4×100 relay in 55.54 seconds.

Two Westhill/Ludden athletes nearly won the pentathlon, with Erin Christensen taking third place with 1,937 points, just ahead of teammate Zoe Fortin (1,924 points), and just behind Camden’s Jenna Sherwood, who won with 1,989 points.